KU names Colorado researcher, educator to head School of Education

LAWRENCE -- A national authority in education reform and educational policy will become dean of education at the University of Kansas, Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor David Shulenburger announced today.

Rick Ginsberg, director of the School of Education at Colorado State University in Fort Collins since 1995, will be the 15th dean of KU's nationally ranked School of Education. His appointment is effective in August.

" Rick Ginsberg is a gifted and experienced administrator, an internationally known scholar and an acknowledged leader," said Shulenburger. "He is the right person to lead this School of Education to better serve the state of Kansas and to increase its already substantial image as a force in the field of education."

Ginsberg is the author of three books, more than 50 refereed articles, and chapters in more than two dozen books. His research and writings address a variety of issues -- school reform, learning disabilities, minorities in higher education, administrator training, school law, instructional improvement and educational change.

Under Ginsberg's leadership, the Colorado State University School of Education has gained national recognition, ranking seventh in the nation for its graduate program in vocational and technical education in the most recent U.S. News and World Report edition of "America's Best Graduate Schools." Colorado State's community college leadership doctorate specialization in education recently was cited by a national graduate student organization as having the highest level of student satisfaction for any doctorate program in the nation.

" KU is a great university with a terrific School of Education," Ginsberg said. "I am impressed by the strong support the school has from the leaders of the university. Particularly noteworthy to me is the high-quality faculty in all of the school departments. I look forward to working with the students, staff and faculty at KU to build on the school's many strengths."

Ginsberg's most recent book, which focuses on a vocational success model for individuals with learning disabilities, received the National Library Association award in 1998 as the Learning Disabilities book of the year. He is completing a book manuscript on the emotional side of leadership.

Ed Meyen, professor of special education and chair of the search committee, said that although Ginsberg brings a strong background in teacher education, his strength is the breadth of his experience and scholarship.

" His leadership will enhance the faculty in achieving the research and development mission of the school, which is much more comprehensive than teacher education," Meyen said.

Ginsberg's current research projects include a U.S. Department of Education-supported Equity Assistance Center, which helps public schools and school districts in a six-state region meet access and diversity needs. The center has been funded for two three-year cycles for a total of $3.6 million. From 2001 to 2004 he led a $300,000 rural teacher preparation initiative funded by the National Science Foundation.

Ginsberg earned a doctorate in education from the University of Chicago in 1983 and a bachelor's degree in history and political science in 1973 from the State University of New York at Albany.

Before joining Colorado State as a professor and director of education, Ginsberg was an associate professor in educational leadership from 1987 to 1995 and co-director of the Office of Research from 1993 to 1995 at the University of South Carolina. Earlier he had served on the faculty of the University of New Orleans and as assistant director of the Center for the Improvement of Teaching and Learning at City Colleges of Chicago.

The KU School of Education enrolls more than 600 undergraduate students in five programs of study and 1,300 graduate students in 16 programs. The school ranked 20th in the nation among public universities by U.S. News and World Report's 2006 edition of "America's Best Graduate Schools." Its Department of Special Education has ranked No. 1 at a public university for 10 out of the past 11 years.